Make of this what you will, from the Detroit Free Press:
In an unusual move, Red Wings general manager Ken Holland gathered all his scouts for brief meetings this week.
“It’s the first time we’ve done it for just one day, and here in early December,” Holland said. The trade deadline isn’t for another three months, and Thursday night’s game against Dallas was only the 26th of the Wings’ season.
“Just thought it would be good to touch base now,” Holland said, “instead of waiting till late January.”
The pro scouts regularly turn in reports on players who could help the Wings and who are deemed to be available via trade.
Holland went on to say he’s still keen to add right-handed shooters, an area of weakness he tried to address during free agency (at Mike Babcock’s behest).
“Would I like two or three more right shots? Absolutely, whether up front or on defense,” Holland said. “But there’s not a hockey store I can go.”
On defense, Detroit is loaded with left-handers: Danny DeKeyser, Jonathan Ericsson, Jakub Kindl, Niklas Kronwall, Brian Lashoff, Kyle Quincey and Brendan Smith. Babcock’s affinity for left-right defensive pairings is well known; at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, the Babcock-led Canadian team built its blueline on the L-R philosophy, and achieved great success.
Because of this, you’ll probably keep seeing Washington’s Mike Green attached to any rumors coming out of Detroit. Aside from being a right-handed shooter and good offensive weapon, Green is a pending UFA. The Caps, meanwhile, already have some hefty contracts on their back end (Matt Niskanen, Brooks Orpik) and might be unable to retain Green in a year when they need to deal with fellow UFAs Joel Ward and Eric Fehr, and RFAs Marcus Johansson, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Braden Holtby.